Flashback
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: A flashback between Chris and Stephanie to the Undisputed Title Match against Hunter. Prologue to Hugs and Kisses, but you need not read that to get this.


Disclaimer: The characters and real people in this story do not belong to me. The characters are trademarked to WWE, and the real people own themselves. There is some slight swearing in the story, you've been warned.

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A/N: I was making a video for my Jericho/Stephanie fanlisting of the Stephanie/Jericho/Hunter match, and thought that it would make a good story to write about the show, and I just thought I'd include it in the "Hugs and Kisses" series.

So as not to confuse you, this is going to be like a prologue to Hugs and Kisses. It's taking place on March 25, 2002, which is the date of the infamous Stephanie vs. Jericho vs. HHH match for the Undisputed Championship. This will be just like a Hugs and Kisses chapter, except with far fewer characters.

You do NOT have to read Hugs and Kisses in order to get this story or even understand it because this takes place before Hugs and Kisses takes place. I would not inflict Hugs and Kisses on any unsuspecting readers who think in order to get this story they have to read that monstrosity of a story. There are a few allusions to points I've made in Hugs and Kisses, and if you pick them up, I'll be super impressed.

All you need to know is that there was a match, and these lines from Hugs and Kisses:

**Chris sighed then looked at her, "I was upset that I got you kicked out. I went and drank that first night I got home. I met up with this old girlfriend of mine, and I still felt really bad about the situation with you, and you know, whatever happened, and that was the last woman I slept with before you."**

**Stephanie stopped in her tracks. She remembered Chris apologizing to her about what had happened, about her getting kicked out of the company, but she didn't think that he had been so upset. Enough to want to drink himself into oblivion? Over her? She wished she had realized how much that hurt.**

"**Because you shouldn't have been kicked out in the first place! I should've protected you better," Chris said loudly, obviously berating himself inside. Stephanie stopped his arms flailing and pulled them down to his sides.**

"**I love that you would've wanted to protect me, but I wasn't exactly being the best partner out there. I shoved you and I tried to pin you, and you probably shouldn't have helped me. I slapped you too, I was horrible."**

"**But that still doesn't mean I wanted to see you leave," he said, looking down. "I had gotten so used to you being there, nagging me, making me do stuff for you. I felt like…"**

**Stephanie looked up at him earnestly, "What did you feel like?"**

"**Like you were already mine," he said, his brow creasing. "You said we should be more than friends."**

**Stephanie fought to keep the smile off of her face. "You thought I was already yours?"**

"**Yeah!" he said, looking around for a moment. "I mean…we spent all of our time together. I was so attracted to you I'm surprised I didn't throw you up against a wall and rip your clothes off."**

If you want more of these type of flashback chapters from before Hugs and Kisses started, let me know, and I might make this into a series. As always, reviews are loved, appreciated, and always welcome. And be brutal if you'd like to be. :)

Hope you enjoy. :)

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Chris walked into the arena and took a deep breath. He wanted to go see Stephanie and talk about the match that they were going to have later that evening. It was still weird to think that he was going to have a match against Stephanie. Not that Stephanie had never had a match, it was just, fighting against her was going to be weird after they had been business partners. 

There were also other concerns that evening, those which didn't really affect him all that much. There was going to be a draft, the first ever draft, and everyone was going to be split up, not knowing where the chips fell. He was exempt from the draft since he had a chance at being the Undisputed Champion once again and if that happened, he could be on both shows at will…and Stephanie could remain by his side.

He thought that Hunter's stipulation was ridiculous. This company did need Stephanie, she was a McMahon and they ran the company in good and in bad, they were the flagship for this company and always had been. Hunter was way out of line trying to get her kicked out of the company tonight, and he was going to make sure that didn't happen. He had to make sure that Stephanie stuck around.

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way, but the past month had been a real trip with Stephanie. He had never expected them to get along so well. Yes, she had him doing some stupid tasks for him, but she always seemed to be joking around when she did them, and he didn't mind doing them for her, not really. It was hard to find friends in the company nowadays. The old adage that said it was lonely at the top had been pretty much correct at this point. He felt like all of his friends had abandoned him, but Stephanie was there.

He didn't regret winning the Undisputed Championship, how could he when he was at the top of the company. It had been one of the biggest things in his life, if not the biggest. Chris wasn't married, and he had no children, so winning that championship, after that grueling match, going back to back against The Rock and Steve Austin, had been the greatest night of his life.

Then he had that taken away from him by his arch-nemesis, and that was truly what Hunter was. He didn't know how he had managed to get under Hunter's skin so much (though he had an idea that it had to do with Stephanie), but the two of them had no love lost between them. They just hated each other outright, and that was it. And Hunter had taken his beautiful belts away from him and he wanted them back desperately.

He didn't want Stephanie to leave.

He just couldn't get that feeling out of his stomach. He just didn't want her to go anywhere. Perhaps it was the fact that she made his life less dull; she always had a quip that got him, and he always had a response to that. He hated to admit it to himself, because he HAD hated her, but even then, when she wasn't around, he missed her being there to tease and just generally malign.

"Good luck tonight," a male voice said from behind him.

Chris turned around to see that Kurt was standing behind him. Chris and Kurt had had some animosity in the recent past, Kurt trying to get his titles, but then they had had to partner together, and it wasn't so bad. Kurt could be a funny guy when he wanted to be, serious a lot of the time, but also funny and clueless and one of the only people who was still willing to talk to Chris.

"Thanks."

"Don't tell Stephanie I said this, but can you just…can you look out for her tonight," Kurt said, lowering his voice. "I just don't want anything to happen to her at the hands of Triple H."

"I'm going to do my best," Chris nodded, not knowing why he sounded so vehement on that. "I don't want Hunter touching her."

"Neither do I," Kurt said, the venom in his voice almost matching Chris's. "Above all of this, Stephanie is my friend and I know how much this company means to her, and I don't want to see her needlessly taken away from it."

"I thought the same thing," Chris confessed.

"Well, we're both her friends," Kurt said. "I realized she was really trying to be your friend when she refused to come over to my side and back me for our match. I know that she promised with you, but I thought we were best friends."

"I've gotten used to Stephanie. I was lying when I said that I always admired her, but I think I do now."

"Good, that means that you won't deliberately try to hurt her tonight," Kurt said, shaking Chris's hand. "Good luck again, and hope to see you on whatever show we end up on. If we're on the same show."

"You too Kurt, good luck," Chris said, as Kurt turned to walk away.

Chris sighed and continued on. His walk was lonely because he had no friends to speak of. He had alienated most of them when he had decided that winning had to be his number one priority. Ironically, it had been Stephanie who had planted that seed in his head. He might not have shown it, but all that talk about him not being able to win the big one had haunted him, and he wanted to prove them all wrong. And he had, he had wanted to prove Stephanie wrong, and he had; ironically it was Stephanie who was now his biggest backer.

He walked by Trish and Jeff, who were staring at each other. He had been friends with Jeff once upon a time, but now, that was no longer, and Trish was giving him a dirty look. This was just the norm for him now. He had become accustomed to being ostracized. If you weren't good, you were bad, and nobody liked you. It was like high school sometimes, and it honestly sickened him. Just because he was better than all of these people, that didn't mean anything.

He reached his place of solace, his locker room, and pushed open the door to find the luxurious surroundings to which he had become accustomed. Stephanie sure did set him up in really nice rooms, just a perk of being business partners with the boss's daughter. She knew how to get the best of everything and that's usually what she did for him, even if some people never got to see it.

Some people saw their relationship and thought it was only what they saw on-screen, but it was different. After the shows, they would usually go out and get a late-night dinner, or a late-night drink and just shoot the breeze. Stephanie had a really nice laugh he noticed, and when she was out of the ring, her voice was low and kind of hoarse, but not in a bad way. She was surprising him every moment that he was with her, and she was an adventure.

He never expected it to be that way, not with Stephanie McMahon. This was the woman that he had hated with all of his being, that he had thrown pie at for God's sakes, but now…now he wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to see her and talk to her, and get her input on things because she was amazing and he didn't use that word often enough, but for her, he could use it every time. Sure, he had been a little bit surprised that she wasn't the whore he thought she was, but he had gotten over that now.

The door opened and then there she was, dressed more conservatively than she had dressed in weeks. She was wearing a pinstriped black blazer with no shirt underneath and matching pants. He caught the corner of her bra, and he had to avert his eyes quickly in order not to stare. Stephanie was beautiful, he had come to realize, and sometimes he caught himself staring rather inappropriately at her. It didn't help that he had constantly touched her breasts when he was helping her get her outfits back on. She had suffered a couple of embarrassing exposures and he took it upon himself to make sure that didn't happen again.

"So we need to talk," she said, her voice delighted as she rubbed her hands together mischievously.

Chris didn't know if her liked that smile. He could read Stephanie a little, but it really wasn't a talent that he had picked up yet. Things were really up the air. When he first heard that she was going to be in the match, he had been shocked, but then he realized that it might not be a bad thing. They hadn't talked since then because he didn't know what was going on with her, but now she wanted to talk, and he needed to talk with her as well.

"About what?"

"About what!" Stephanie asked, shocked that he could ask such a stupid question. "Well if Matt and Lita are going to be on the same show after the draft of course!"

"Very funny," Chris said, they had just been two more people that he had lost as friends. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that we have to talk about the match later."

"Of course we have to talk about the match later."

"So you want to win…" he said, his voice fading off. Stephanie wanting to win that championship was really preposterous a thought.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. She walked over and sat down primly on the couch, her hands in her lap, but a special gleam in her eye. "WE have to work it out so that YOU win."

"You want me to win."

"Hell yeah I do," she answered with a laugh. "Do you really think I want my husband to win?"

"No…how is the divorce going?"

"How should I know, it's all going through my lawyers. I don't want to have to deal with Hunter any more than I have to. He and I are through. Let him rot in hell for all I care."

"I'll try to make that happen."

"Look, the only reason I put myself into tonight's match is so that I could give you more opportunities to actually win this match," she explained. "If it were just you and Hunter, that would be fine, I guess I could interfere, but now, I can do anything I want to him in the pretense of the match, and then you can win. I have an idea Chris."

"What?" he asked, on the edge of his seat.

"You go into the ring, you knock Hunter around a little, get him down for the count, and then, I'll lay down for you, you pin me, and you are once again the Undisputed Champion!"

It was a damn good plan, and so simple too, he had briefly thought of it in passing over the last four days, but nothing solid. "Perfect, I'll be champion…"

"And I'll be aligned with a champion again," Stephanie said happily.

That reminded Chris of something that he had had wanted to address for the past couple weeks. "Steph, I have a question, and I think you have the answer."

"Go ahead."

"Why are you still with me?" he asked.

Stephanie looked up at him. She didn't outright know the answer to that. She had been made a deal with him to see him through to WrestleMania, but it was now more than a week after the show, and she was still here, still supporting him and wanting him to win. He would've thought she'd be long gone as soon as the title had switched hands.

She shrugged, feeling that was her best answer, "I guess because I want to see it off of Hunter's waist, and I think that you're just the guy to do it."

"So you believe in me?"

"I guess I do," she said, again shrugging. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it. She and Chris had no formal arrangement, there were no documents that had been drawn up. She could leave at any time, and so could he, but they hadn't yet. And neither one had any plans to for the future. "Let's just worry about the match later, nothing else matters."

"Not even this draft?" he asked.

"Who gives a shit about the draft?" Stephanie scoffed. "Neither one of us is going to be in it. And when you do win tonight, we can both be on both shows. All the other people should worry, they might get split up."

"Scary thought for some," he said to no one really, leaning back against the couch. "If I had anyone left who even remotely liked me, I might be worried where I end up."

"I like you," Stephanie said genuinely. "I just ruined my reputation saying that, but it's true. You're not what I expected you to be. You are actually worthy of hanging out with me."

"Likewise," Chris said. "But it's weird from going from lots of friends, to suddenly no friends whatsoever."

"Their loss," Stephanie told him, "I mean, why should you care? They weren't really your friends if they were so willing to turn on you. You did what you had to do to further your career, I don't blame you."

"Thanks Steph," Chris said, turning to her. She smiled at him, and there was that word flashing in his mind again: amazing. The room felt pretty electric, but he figured that he was the only one feeling it. He wasn't. Stephanie was feeling it to, and it zipped through her. She and Chris had always had chemistry, neither one was going to deny that, but they never, ever, ever would act on that. Except for those two kisses they had shared.

Then there was that hug, that awkward, tense hug. Stephanie had thought, for sure, that he was going to kiss her. She had felt his breath on her lips and she had almost anticipated it, smiling nervously as he was going in for the kill. She had momentarily wondered what Chris's lips would feel like when they weren't brutally pressing into her own, but she saw his awkwardness and then he pulled her into a weird hug, and she just embraced him, and covered up her…disappointment with a bright smile. Yes, she had been rather disappointed when Chris had not kissed her, but she didn't dwell on it. She and Chris were finally at a point in their lives where they weren't slinging words back and forth between each other, and she was happy for the long-awaited truce.

But as for the chemistry, that was just going to lie there, never really showing its cards, but just knowing that it was there. There were tense moments with Chris, when he looked at her like he was going to ravish her, but she figured that it was just a part of his personality; that he just had this intense stare that could make your insides turn to mush and completely decimate any thought you were thinking. She had even dressed sexier for him, unknowingly even, just because that stare was so powerful.

She noticed that he had turned on the television and was staring at it, watching the draft as it happened. It had no bearing on him, but he was curious as to how this would work. It was like a tug-of-war between Vince and Ric, each vying for the best and brightest, and who they wanted more, each one trying to top the other. It was sad in a way, to see all these people split up, but it was also life.

"I'd want to go to SmackDown," Chris said idly. "I'd rather work for your father."

"I'm sure he'd like to hear that," Stephanie said, settling herself against the back of the couch, a safe distance from Chris. She stole a glance at him, but he was still staring at the television, entranced almost.

"He is getting all the good guys," Chris commented. "Smart man."

"Yeah, he usually is," Stephanie said. She was more invested in this conversation at the moment. Chris was just making comments and she was blathering on and on. What was wrong with her? Why wasn't she being witty and brilliant like usual?

They watched the show in relative silence, making a comment here and there. Chris was funny sometimes, but other times, he would just make a grunting sound. She gauged it on how much he cared for the wrestler at hand. Needless to say, there were a lot more grunting noises than there were actual comments.

The time was drawing closer for their match and Stephanie fidgeted with the bottom of her blazer. "Do you think I should go get ready?"

"Yeah, if you want," Chris said. "I think we've got time, but you might want to get prepared."

"I brought my stuff," Stephanie said, gesturing towards a small bag that was resting near the doorway. "I don't really have a lot of wrestling gear. I'm not very good at this whole thing. But I do have actual wrestling outfits now, not like the stuff I wore way back when, you know, the t-shirt and pants, I'm better prepared."

"That's good," he said positively. Every little bit will help in the match."

She could tell he was saying it for her benefit, but she went and grabbed her bag all the same. She brought it into the little adjoining bathroom and changed into her wrestling attire, leaving her boots off until she could sit down and put them on. She pulled her hair back away from her face so that she could actually see and went back outside only to see that Chris had changed already and was now sitting in his wrestling tights.

"You changed," she stated rather obviously.

"I don't take as long as you do," he joked and she laughed.

"Well sorry if I take time to be beautiful in any situation," she teased and sat down next to him again. "If I AM going out tonight, then I'm going out looking good and making sure Hunter knows exactly what he left."

"But didn't you really set that off with the whole fake pregnancy thing?"

"He blew that out of proportion," she said, waving off the question. In truth, she had set that up herself, not to save her marriage, but to destroy it. All because of Chris, the way that he looked at her that one day, when he was in a match with Hunter while teaming with Kurt, there had been a look in them. She didn't know and didn't think about it, but there had been a look.

"Yeah, because fake pregnancies are really just a laugh and a half."

"Again, he blew it out of proportion."

Stephanie laced up her boots, but was having trouble at the top of them. She knew there was a trick to tying them and having the laces not show so they wouldn't get caught, but she had never actually laced up her own boots before, so she was a little lost. On the fourth try, she felt a pair of hands intercept her own and stop her trying. She looked up and caught Chris's clear blue eyes and there was laughter in them. He wanted to laugh at her.

"Need help there Princess?" he asked, and she tried to ignore the teasing tone in his voice.

"Yes, help a poor damsel in distress," Stephanie said, pretending to be helpless.

"You know, if a camera were in here right now, people would immediately jump to conclusions, saying I'm you whipping boy, and you were just using me. Little do they know you just don't know how to fix up your boots."

"I'm not a wrestler," she argued.

"I know, I didn't expect you to know," he answered, "I am however, impressed with your wrestling outfit. It's much better than what you used to wear."

"I think that's a compliment."

"It is," he reassured her. He went about lacing up her boots correctly and she just watched as his fingers practically flew up her leg. "You have big feet."

"You know what they say about women with big feet," Stephanie joked. Chris just raised an eyebrow from his place on the ground. "Big breasts."

"Makes sense," he answered, keeping his eyes off her cleavage. He was not going to be that guy; the one that did that kind of stuff just because she had said something.

"Let's be honest Chris, you saw my breasts when they popped out of my top," Stephanie said with an exasperated sigh. She was super embarrassed that had happened a couple of weeks ago, but Chris, her knight in shining armor, had not even so much as mentioned the incident, saving her from being embarrassed to his face. He had even been the one to help pull up her top and make sure it was secure; she would never forget that act of kindness.

Simply put, and though she hardly wanted to admit it to herself, and oftentimes didn't, she liked Chris. She was attracted to Chris and she liked him, and he was a far, far better man than she had ever imagined he could be. All those insults had jaded her towards him, but this month, this month had changed her perception of him dramatically, and she found herself drawn to him in a way that she could have never imagined.

He looked down, and she thought she caught a blush on his cheeks. Then he answered, more quietly than he had ever been around her, "Yeah, I saw them."

"I knew you had," she said. "It's ok, you can still look me in the eyes."

"Nobody said I couldn't," Chris said, doing just what she asked by staring her straight in the eyes. "I just didn't want to embarrass you any more than you were."

"You knew…"

"Of course I know, who wouldn't, I mean, that's not something…I wanted to kick Trip's ass for that. I mean, of all the stupid, asinine things to do, that was the worst."

"But you helped me," Stephanie said, then looked down at his handiwork. "And you laced up my boots, thank you. They're nice and comfy."

"Good, that's important," he said, glad she was happy with it. "And for what it's worth, they were nice."

Stephanie burst into laughter and clapped Chris on the shoulder. She hadn't expected him to say that, but it was a welcome joke to an embarrassing situation. She appreciated that and stood up, running in place for a moment. "Well, thanks, I guess. In the off-chance I ever see you naked, I'm sure that I will return the compliment."

"Oh, there'd be compliments all right," Chris said cockily (no pun intended, I swear).

"I'm going to go warm up, I'll meet you in the ring…partner."

"You bet…partner."

Stephanie smiled and left the room. As she was walking down the hallway, Michael Cole caught up with her and asked her about the match. So as not to give away the plan that she had with Chris, she lied and said that she wanted to be the one to get the title belt and be on both shows. Cole looked thoroughly and rightfully surprised, and she was glad that her acting skills were still great.

With her match next she went to the gorilla and saw for the first time, her husband. She sent him a withering scowl and he just stood there, patting the title belts that he was carrying. She bit her lip to keep from spouting off a string of curse words at him, but then felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"Hi Chris," Stephanie said, though she had seen him not ten minutes earlier. He could tell she was mad, and he was trying to keep her in place until her music came on, which it did moments later. She turned to Chris and whispered, "I'll see you out there."

As soon as she was out of sight, Hunter stalked over to Chris and was almost breathing down his neck, "Are you sleeping with my wife?"

"Look," Chris said, "First of all, she's not your wife for very much longer, and two, why do you care?"

"Not now you jackass, I don't care about now, before, were you sleeping with my wife before. It just all seems way too convenient, the two of you, with your hating each other, and then your business partnership. Tell me…were you doing my wife behind my back!"

Chris heard his music go off, "Oops, that's my cue."

He sauntered over to the stairs and climbed them, feeling pretty satisfied with how he had handled that. He'd let Hunter stew a little bit before he'd tell him anything. No, he had not slept with Stephanie while she was with Hunter, and Stephanie had revealed that she had been mostly faithful to Hunter for the duration of her marriage, the only times she hadn't were the kisses that she shared with him and with Kurt and those had hardly been her choice.

He made his way down to the ring and saw Stephanie clapping for him, which made him feel oddly good inside. He climbed into the ring and walked over to the still clapping Stephanie, sidling up right next to her. She gave him a smirk that said everything she needed to say, but he leaned in closer anyways.

"You're not going anywhere," he told her, and she looked him up and down, giving him a good look.

"I believe you," she said simply and he pulled away and took a few steps forward.

He hung onto the ropes as Hunter's music hit, and the man himself came out onto the ramp. Chris trained his eyes on him, never leaving him. He wanted the gold. He felt the ring move a little, and as if on instinct he leaned back a little, only to have Stephanie right there, her breath close enough for him to feel on his bare skin. He didn't even look at her, but he could tell his emotions through her voice.

"Bastard thinks he's all that," Stephanie sneered. "We'll get back at him."

"You're damn straight we will," Chris said.

Hunter came closer and Stephanie and Chris got out of the ring and went to the side, standing next to each other, closely, and waiting for the match to begin. Stephanie and Chris separated then, and Stephanie went to the front of the ring to antagonize Hunter. He fell for it, seeing her there, he just wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze, he was so angry at her betrayal. He almost didn't notice Chris creeping up behind him, but he managed to intercept him at the very last moment.

Stephanie was happy to just get out of the way for the moment, watching the two men fight each other from a safe distance. Hunter seemed to get the early upper-hand and that worried her as she saw him flip Chris onto the ground. Hunter walked over to her slowly and she got out of the ring, worried he would get her, but he went back for Chris. This time Chris was getting the upper-hand, and Stephanie was glad that they're plan was going into affect.

Chris knocked Hunter out of the ring, and he was going to go to the outside as well, to get Hunter and bring him back in the ring, but he felt Stephanie's smaller hand grab him around the wrist, he tried to get her to let go, but then realized that she was going to lay down for him. She went to the middle of the ring, and she laid down and Chris was on top of her quickly, which sounded dirty, but really wasn't, he was just trying for the pin.

Unfortunately, the plan didn't work as Hunter pulled Chris out of the ring and to the outside. Hunter got into the ring and Stephanie, for a moment, thought that she could stand up to him, but they were in the ring and he could literally do anything to her and get away with it so she turned and ran, trying to get out of the ring, but Hunter grabbed her by the hair. She cursed herself for having long hair at that moment. She was going to get a haircut as soon as she got home this week.

He pulled her around by the hair and she struggled, thinking she was going to get Pedigreed and she was scared. But then Chris was there, like he always was and he pulled her out of the ring by her ankles and to safety. She couldn't help but notice his hand running over her breasts as he pulled her in, and she realized that once again, he was checking her outfit to make sure that she hadn't popped out again. He put his hand on her shoulder and looked her over, making sure that she was ok.

"You ok? Did he hurt you?" Chris said, the concern obvious in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Stephanie said, "Thank you."

"It's my job," he said, and she found those words peculiar, at least from the way that he said it. It seemed a more personal concern, not just concern for a business partner, but she had no time to dwell on the inflections of his voice as Hunter kicked Chris from behind and knocked Chris into her.

Stephanie saw Hunter throw Chris into the ring steps and though her back was hurting, she was worried for Chris. When did she become so worried for Chris? That was another thing she would have to wait until later to figure out because Hunter had just thrown her into the ring and she was shuffling to the corner of the ring, looking up at Hunter looked at her like he was a predator and she was his prey. Her back hit the corner of the ring and she covered her face, hoping that Hunter would just leave her alone.

He grabbed her by the hair again and she yelled for him to stop, but he didn't. But then there was Chris again, and she didn't know how he always managed to be there at just the right moment. That didn't last long though as Hunter got Jericho by the legs and flung him into the corner. Stephanie wasn't prepared and all she was a body flying towards her and she tried to prepare for it, but you can't prepare yourself for flying bodies.

Chris fell against the ground and Stephanie, dazed from the 230-pound man crashing into her, fell forward and straight into…well, to put it bluntly, Chris's crotch. It was one of those moments, you don't believe until they happen, and then you still don't believe until you watch it over again and become embarrassed that you were so close to…well something you really had no business being next to. Chris, obviously, was in a lot of pain from the woman that had just fallen into his crotch, which sounded wrong, but it really wasn't. He always thought if Stephanie was going to be down there, it wouldn't be something that was painful.

For some reason, Hunter made a face at this, and you could take it one of two ways, really. He looked like he was having sympathy pains for Chris, but that hardly made sense because he hated Chris. He also looked between Chris and Stephanie, and saw something. Maybe Hunter saw the chemistry between them, and seeing that rather vivid imagery, had realized that maybe these two were attracted to one another, and he could not have his wife moving on. Despite the fact he was divorcing her, Stephanie would always be his, no matter what.

Hunter, in his newfound reason for anger, kicked Stephanie, very literally, out of the ring before going after Chris. Chris wasn't going to let him do that and went after Hunter's quad with a vengeance. Stephanie climbed back in the ring and oversaw the proceedings. Chris knocked Hunter down again and then grabbed him by the hair.

"I didn't sleep with her you bastard," Chris said, leaning in to whisper at Hunter, answering his earlier question.

"Then what the hell were you doing earlier!" Hunter hissed.

Chris was confused by this, so he just punched Hunter instead. Then he grabbed his bad leg and started doing elbow drops on it, knowing that Hunter was going to be in some major pain because of that, and judging from the screaming he was doing, Chris was correct in that assumption. Stephanie cheered him on and he nodded her over, letting her get in an elbow drop. She was proud of herself as she did one and oddly enough, Chris was proud as well when he saw her. He grabbed Hunter's leg again and let Stephanie get another one in. She cheered for herself and Chris had a huge smile on his face.

Chris grabbed Hunter's leg and twisted it, holding onto the ropes as Stephanie distracted the referee. He twisted it again, but this time Hunter kicked him and he ran into Stephanie, knocking her over. Stephanie was shocked, looking up at Chris in horror. Why had he done that! Of course, she didn't see that Hunter was the one that did that and Chris had tried to catch her on the way down.

Chris tried to help her up and had she listened instead of being Stephanie, she would've heard him apologize, genuinely, but she didn't and she shoved him away lightly. Chris once again tried to explain that it was Hunter's doing, but Stephanie reverted back to her old ways and slapped the hell out of Chris. Chris was pissed that she would do that so he went right back and pie-faced her, knocking her down. Their tempers were flaring right now, and the one thing that could come between them, was their massive tempers.

Stephanie stood back up and stared at Chris, "What the hell are we doing!"

"I don't know, you're the one slapping me!" he yelled back.

"We're supposed to be going after Hunter! Hunter! We shouldn't be fighting with each other, we're supposed to be going after him!" Stephanie reasoned.

"Fine!"

Chris went back to work, giving Hunter a running bulldog, and then going for the Lionsault, but Hunter got up before he could get it and Chris fell to the mat in pain. Stephanie looked between the two of them, and before she knew what she was doing, she was trying to pin Chris for the win, grabbing his leg and hooking it for the pin. Chris didn't know what the hell she was doing now. Only problem was…neither did Stephanie.

Chris got up after the failed pin and looked at Stephanie, "What the hell is wrong with you? We're supposed to get ME to win, not you. Don't be a bitch about this!"

Maybe it was the bitch comment that did it, or maybe it was just the frustration in the two of them. Or maybe, just maybe, Stephanie was frustrated with the fact that Chris couldn't see all the signals she was sending him. She was frustrated that he couldn't see how much she liked him, and she did like him, damn it, she liked him a lot and the stupid idiot couldn't see that! She went in for another slap, maybe hoping that it would knock some sense into him, but he intercepted it with his arm, like he had been doing for years, and Stephanie gulped, hoping he had gotten the clue.

Maybe he was going to kiss her, like he had done in the past and she was panting with anticipation of that. She wanted a kiss, even if it was going to be brutal and like the other two, she just wanted one. She had been so disappointed with the hug not being a kiss, and all this pent-up attraction had finally reached its boiling point and she just wanted him, and now, it seemed that he wanted her to.

Except Chris was rather clueless and instead of kissing her like he should have, he put her into the Walls of Jericho. He had no grasp on what he was doing, but even then, he knew he was taking it easy on her. Other people, he had put the full Walls of Jericho on them, but Stephanie, never Stephanie; for her, he always went easy. But Chris had apparently taken too many shots to the head, and had not yet figured out that he went easy on her because he probably liked her. Stephanie was about to tap, but Hunter hit Chris from behind and Stephanie stood up.

Chris stood up as well, and went to hit Hunter, but Hunter ducked and he hit Stephanie instead and he looked down at her, but only for a moment before he went back after Hunter, who then threw him out of the ring. Stephanie was still writhing on the ground and Hunter grabbed her again, but she had a feeling that Chris wasn't going to save her this time, and he would be content to see her lose and get kicked out of the company.

For whatever reason, one that Stephanie would never find out, Chris stopped Hunter from giving her the Pedigree with a missile dropkick. She didn't know why he did that, but he had, once again coming to her rescue, and she was grateful. She rolled out of the ring and out of harm's way.

Chris, on the other hand, was fed up, and he went out of the ring to grab the belts and a chair, throwing them into the ring, despite the referee's protests. When he went back in, he and Hunter both hit each other with the title belts and they were both down. Stephanie saw this situation and knowing that Chris had just gotten her out of trouble, she went to try and pin Hunter. When that didn't work, she did try on Chris, but that didn't work either. She was angry now, for no other reason than all hell had broken loose.

And Stephanie must have gone crazy, because now she wanted to go after Hunter, which was dumb of her because Hunter just answered with a massive clothesline that knocked her out. Chris was putting Hunter in the Walls again, and hoped this time it would make him tap out. Hunter was struggling, he could tell and he didn't break his hold. Then Stephanie, who was still crazy, and had probably lost a few hundred screws with that clothesline, jumped on Chris's back, for no other reason that to jump on his back.

Chris was so confused, he did the only thing he could, which was to flip Stephanie over him and onto the ground. How had their relationship decimated itself in so short a time? He looked down at her, "Quit it bitch!"

Chris was then Pedigreed and Stephanie broke the count and Chris rolled out of the ring. Stephanie was Pedigreed, and this time, Chris wasn't there to save her. Hunter pinned her for the win, and she vaguely felt the weight of his foot on her chest. That's when it sunk in; she was kicked out, she wasn't going to get to be a part of the company any longer. Her heart burst at the thought, and desperation set in. The kind of desperation that makes you do stupid things, like hold onto the ring post until your knuckles are white.

Chris lifted his head when he heard the bell ring, but it was pounding and he put it back down, not really knowing what had happened. Then he saw Stephanie being dragged up the ramp, pleading and screaming amidst the singing of the crowd. He pulled himself up and made his way backstage, to his dressing room, but any proof that Stephanie had been there that evening was erased.

Chris took his shower leisurely, letting the stink of failure drip off him with the water and sweat from the match. He wasn't paying attention though, because he knew that he was going to have to go see her. Maybe just this last time, but he was going to have to see her regardless. They had not gotten to speak after the match, she had disappeared, but they had to discuss what had happened with them in that ring. He felt like there was something else he needed to discuss, but that thought was eluding him.

When he was through with that, he gathered up his things quietly and slipped out the door. Many people had gone to the hotel, or out to party one last time as a full roster, but Chris ignored that, and just made a beeline for his car. He drove back to the hotel and left all his gear in his car, instead going straight up to Stephanie's suite, which was a few doors down from his own. He knocked quietly, wondering if she was even going to be there, or maybe she was going to be out drinking her sorrows away.

Stephanie opened the door and Chris looked at her long and hard. Her hair was straight and falling on her shoulders against the pink robe that she was wearing. Underneath the robe she was wearing matching pink pajamas, and she looked like such a little girl in that moment, so scared and alone. Her eyes were red from crying, though she must have stopped earlier because her cheeks were dry.

"Hey," he said, his tone missing its usual brashness.

"Hi," she answered.

"I think we need to talk," Chris said, and Stephanie stepped aside to let him in. He stepped in and went over to her couch and sat down. She sat down next to him. "I'm sorry you lost, it's all my fault."

"No it's not," she reassured him, patting his knee. "It's my fault, I was acting stupid, and everything."

"No, it's really my fault, I told you that I would protect you and I didn't, and I should've, and I'm so sorry, I should've gotten to you in time, the Pedigree wasn't that bad, I could've gotten to you, I really could've."

"Chris, it's ok, I'm not blaming you," she told him. "It happened, it's not your fault, you did everything in your power to protect me."

"No, I didn't though, because if I had, then you wouldn't have gotten kicked out in the first place."

"It's ok, I think I'm going to live," she said, though her eyes betrayed her.

"Steph, we'll think of something, some way to get you back in the company. There has to be a clause or something to get you out of this. We'll think of something, I'm not going to let this stand."

Stephanie smiled kindly at him, charmed by his words, "I really appreciate that Chris, but I'd rather you not. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise."

"What!" Chris asked, shocked that she would say this. For the past few years, this company had been Stephanie's life, she had done everything for this company. She had even bought a whole other company because wrestling was in her blood. Now she was telling him that she wanted to give it up.

"Well, I'm just entering a divorce, and maybe it's better that I don't let that get exposed to everyone. Maybe I should just take some time off, travel, meet someone or something, settle down," Stephanie said, saying the last part with emphasis. She'd try this last time to get Chris to notice her, and if he didn't, then she would just have to move on and forget about the man who had stood by her when barely anyone else would.

"Oh." Chris didn't say anymore, and he didn't want to admit that last part had felt like a stone sinking to the bottom of his stomach. But Stephanie was nothing to him, not really. They had had a tentative partnership, and it seemingly had fallen apart in front of their eyes tonight. Admitting that he was attracted to her now would be stupid.

But…he felt like she was his, in some weird way that he couldn't, or wouldn't try to explain. This past month, it had been almost like…like she was his girlfriend, or best friend, or something, and it had been odd, but it had been something. He didn't WANT Stephanie to go. He hadn't been lying last Thursday when he had said that everyone needed Stephanie McMahon, and scarily enough, it seemed that he was the one that needed her the most. But if she wanted to go, if she felt the need to leave and find something that she couldn't find here, in front of her, he would let her go.

"Yeah, so don't worry anymore about me," Stephanie answered, grabbing his hand. "You should just go and win that title back, by any means necessary."

"It won't be as fun," Chris told her sincerely.

"You'll make it fun," she said, "You're good at that. And even if those fans never wise up, I'll watch and I'll root for you. And if you could possibly get in some good shots on Hunter, I'm going to take that as a personal favor."

"You got it," he said resolutely. "So I guess that this is it."

"Yeah, it would seem so," Stephanie said. "Let me walk you out."

Chris nodded and followed Stephanie to the door. He reached for the knob the same time as she did and his hand came to rest on top of hers. She looked down a moment and when she looked up at him, he saw the most earnest look on her face. It almost made him want to say the show be damned, her wishes were stupid, and he was going to do everything in his power to get her back where she belonged.

"So goodbye then," Chris said.

"Yeah, goodbye then."

"So I won't ever see you again?" he asked.

"You'll see me again," Stephanie said, and she said it in such a way that he believed her. "I don't know when, but you can't keep me down for too long, I wouldn't let Hunter get the last laugh in all of this. No way."

"Good, that's what I like to hear."

Chris took a step closer to her and for a moment, the very briefest of moments, she thought he would finally, finally kiss her. Once again though, he hugged her. She leaned into it, more than she should have, and she just stood there with him, her arms around his waist, his around her shoulders, and she let him hold her, tighter than tight it seemed.

"I'm sorry," Chris whispered again.

"Don't be," Stephanie whispered back.

"Good luck."

"You too," she said, and she finally pulled away, feeling very final about the entire thing. And it did seem final, this whole thing, being kicked out, having to leave. Tomorrow she would begin the rest of her life, and she didn't know what that was going to entail. But she would do ok, she knew it, and he did too.

"Bye," he said simply.

"Bye," she mimicked. "Chris, don't beat yourself up about this, please don't."

"I'll try not to," he said, taking a few steps away from the door. She watched him. "Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"It's been…surprising…the whole idea of us. It's been surprising."

She laughed. "You're not the jackass I thought you were."

"And you're not the whore that I pegged you for."

"See ya Chris."

"Later Stephanie."

She closed the door then, and seemingly closed the door on their friendship, their partnership, and any kind of truce that existed between them. Chris stared at her door a few seconds before walking away. Stephanie sighed from behind the door and decided to turn in for the night; she was tired from her match anyways.

Four days later, Chris went home, and went out to try and forget what he had done to Stephanie. Seeing Kurt's little tribute to her on Thursday had done nothing for her mood. He met up with an old girlfriend and ended up sleeping with her, trying in vain to forget Stephanie.

He thought that was it, and so did she. But it wasn't, not by a long shot. It would never be over.

It was just the end of the beginning.

Four months later, on July 18, 2002, they began their middle.


End file.
